The Sindh High Court (SHC) has served notices to Federal and Sindh healthcare authorities on a plea demanding fair and transparent distribution of Coronavirus vaccines across the country.
According to details, Nadeem Shaikh and Saleem Michael had filed a petition in the SHC, seeking the court’s orders for the formulation of a fair mechanism for import and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
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The petitioners also contended that the federal government had allowed the private sector to import Coronavirus vaccines for sale but it fixed their prices at a much higher rate than their global prices.
They pleaded the court to direct concerned authorities to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are widely available at the rates approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The petitioners also argued that private laboratories performing COVID-19 diagnostic tests were not in line with the standards of the WHO as many patients with ordinary flu and fever were declared positive.
They requested the court to order relevant departments to keep close tabs on all laboratories conducting Coronavirus diagnostic tests.
The petitioners also briefed the court that the federal government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign after the Chinese government donated 0.5 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine last month.
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The government had also secured 15.85 million doses of Sinopharm and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines that will be donated by the Chinese government and the COVAX facility by the end of May.
However, they argued that the COVID-19 vaccine doses secured by the government and imported by the private sector will not be enough to vaccinate a population of 220 million.
After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar issued notices to the federal secretaries of Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) and Establishment Division, Chief Executive Officer of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Secretary Sindh Health Department, Deputy Attorney General, and Additional Advocate General.
